As the saying goes, you are what you eat. But new evidence suggests that the same may also be true for the microbes in your gut. A Harvard study shows that, in as little as a day, diet can alter the population of microbes in the gut—particularly those that tolerate bile—as well as the types of genes expressed by gut bacteria.

Who would have thought that the human body contains over 10 times the amount of bacterial cells as human cells? These bacteria – now collectively called the gut microbiota – number in their trillions and are made up of more than a 1,000 different species most of which are beneficial in some way.

The international consortium MetaHIT, which includes the research group of Jeroen Raes (VIB / Vrije Universiteit Brussel), publishes in the leading journal Nature that there is a link between richness of bacterial species in the intestines and the susceptibility for medical complications related to obesity.

Intestinal bacteria may have a greater influence on us than was previously thought. In a study published in the prestigious journal Nature on 29 May, researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden and Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, show that patients with type 2 diabetes have an altered gut microbiota.

The benefits of breast milk have long been appreciated, but now scientists at Duke University Medical Center have described a unique property that makes mother’s milk better than infant formula in protecting infants from infections and illnesses.

A new study in the journal Nutrition in Clinical Practice shows that microorganisms in the human gastrointestinal tract form an intricate, living fabric of natural controls affecting body weight, energy, and nutritioni. The findings may offer new ideas on how to treat nutrition-related maladies, including obesity and a range of serious health consequences linked to under-nutrition, the scientists said.

Teaching optimism, gratitude and kindness might alleviate depression. It may be possible to treat depression by delivering happiness to people with depression, suggested by researchers at University of California, Riverside and Duke University Medical Center. Rather than focusing on medications, the scientists propose using Positive Activity Intervention, or PAI as depression therapy.